GeekLikeMe

Thursday: December 13, 2012

The long awaited Google Maps application is finally here and it actually looks and functions very well. There have been numerous reports that this app beats out it's Android counterpart in terms of design and overall look and feel. All of the characteristics you expected from a proper maps application are here - turn by turn directions, vector maps, rotational maps and general location information. Some amazing work here from Google.

Wednesday: January 2, 2013

Developers have started noticing some curious entries in there log files regarding a new version of Apple's iOS operating system. The current version of iOS is six but references to iOS 7 are being found. Along with the new version of iOS a new iPhone hardware identifier has been unearthed as well. Look forward to iPhone 6 sometime in the near future.

Tuesday: December 18, 2012

If you've used iTunes 11 you may have noticed the adaptive colors used in some of your favorite albums. Apple could have just displayed a thumbnail and used the same colors for text everywhere but instead chose to theme each album to go along with it's individual art. This kind of little touch is really what has always se Apple apart from the rest. The good folks at Panic delve into the kind of programming and logic that may have gone into this kind of display paradigm. It's a great read even if you aren't a developer but its an even greater read if you because they include sample code.

The answer is that most of the coders behind today’s popular websites and services are deploying their code when it’s ready—not at some pre-determined point when downtime may not be noticed. It’s called continuous code deployment, or some variation on that theme, and everyone from Facebook and Netflix to smaller services do it. While it may occasionally cause a few blips, those blips should be shorter and less catastrophic.

Monday: December 10, 2012

Local Police have been called to assist distressed motorists who have become stranded within the Murray-Sunset National Park after following directions on their Apple iPhone. Tests on the mapping system by police confirm the mapping systems lists Mildura in the middle of the Murray Sunset National Park, approximately 70km away from the actual location of Mildura. Police are extremely concerned as there is no water supply within the Park and temperatures can reach as high as 46 degrees, making this a potentially life threatening issue.

Turns out that Google would need about $140 billion to roll out their fiber network to the entire continental United States. At present time, they only have about $45 billion in the bank and that doesn't begin to include other associative costs. Long story short, if you really want to try out Google Fiber you should think about moving to Kansas.

Sunday: December 9, 2012

While this news is by no means official it sounds like a formal announcement may be right around the corner. Full disclosure: I am a gigantic Disney nerd. My kids, by association, are also gigantic Disney nerds. But they also happen to be huge fans of the Cars movies. Ask us to recite any line and you'll hear the whole movie. The recently opened Cars Land in California has been met with postivive reviews from fans and non-fans of the franchise. Being that we reside on the East Coast, a trip to Florida is way more feasible than a trip out to California. Ka-chow!

Monday: November 14, 2011

According to the article, this magical place (dubbed 'Google X') is where Google may or may not be working on the following futuristic concepts: 1) an internet fridge that orders food when it's low, 2) driver-less cars, 3) space elevators, 4) personal assistant robots for your home, 5) networked coffee pots and gardening tools and finally 6) training monkeys to fly airplanes for special covert operations.

Wednesday: November 9, 2011

That's a shame but it makes sense given Apple's strategy and history of making certain features exclusive to particular iPhone models. Not clear on why devices other than iPhones have to miss out on this. The iPad 2 should have enough horsepower to run Siri without an issue (same for their notebook line as well).